“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” – George Washington

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” – Albert Camus

“Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau

JE SUIS CHARLIE

Nous sommes tous Charlie…

Mon cœur enfle

De l’intérieur de ma poitrine

Il menace d’éclater

Je suis Charlie…

la Solidarité – frappée par la foudre

la Cohésion – debout, ensemble:

Soixante-quatre millions de personnes!

Même après sept ans en France,

cette voix collective me rend humble

mon Hommage(respect) pour la liberté qui ne sera pas

sacrifiée pour l’illusion de la sécurité –

Pas en mon nom – si d’autres le font!

l’Humanité est en noir – dans l’union,

Refusant de se taire

Cohésion – 64000000,

les cœurs battent très fort

Les terroristes entendent cette Vérité,

l’Égalité et la Liberté ne seront pas sacrifiées –

Ni tues par le fanatisme – ou par la naissance,

Mais par le cœur, les choix, la pensée…

France, je me tiens debout avec toi,

mon “chez moi” – foyer accueillant de mon cœur

Je suis avec toi,

Nous sommes solidaires,

NOUS SOMMES TOUS CHARLIE!

En solidarité

Léa

***

Nous sommes tous Charlie

My heart swells

From within my breast

It threatens to burst forth

Je suis Charlie

Solidarity – frappée par la foudre

Cohesion – standing together

Sixty-four million strong

Even after seven years in France

Humbled by this collective voice

Reverence for liberty will not be

Sacrificed for the illusion of security

Not in my name – others will

Humanity in black – in unity

Refusing to be silenced

Cohesion – sixty four million

Hearts beating strong

Terrorists – hear this

Truth, Equality and Freedom

Will not be sacrificed

Nor silenced by fanaticism – not by birth

But by heart, by choice, in thought

France I stand with you

Home of my heart

I stand with thee

We stand together

NOUS SOMMES TOUS CHARLIE

In solidarity

Léa

With gratitude to Mélanie at: https://myvirtualplayground.wordpress.com/. Without her help with translations, this post would not have been possible. Please stop by and visit her and you will be delighted!

15 Responses to Nous sommes tous Charlie

Love all the quotes Lea, and your poem is perfectly fine longer. It flows really well and I don’t think any passion is lost after all now I read it again. I think both versions work equally as well. I know sometimes ‘less is more’ but on the other hand sometimes ‘more is more’! 😊 xxx

Ah, Cynthia, I must admit I had help with it. My friend Mélanie was a wonder. I put her link at the bottom of the post so others could find her amazing blog. I do hope the quotes give food for thought!

Hi Lea,
Thank you for posting this and I also appreciated the George Washington quote. I’m not sure if you have heard much about the terrorist siege which gripped Sydney in December but I have somehow ended up writing a few posts about it on my blog and thought you would find our Australian experience interesting. A terrorist took 18 hostages captive in the Lindt Cafe and fortunately all but two of the hostages survived. I actually worked with one of the hostages many years ago and it has been harrowing to hear her talk on tv about what she went through. Just awful. This post links all my writings on the siege together and the post following should be the last. I have been thinking of Paris. Take care & best wishes, Rowena